U.S. patent application number 10/311926 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-25 for floor board with coupling means.
Invention is credited to Stridsman, Per-Eric.
Application Number | 20030180091 10/311926 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 20280201 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030180091 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stridsman, Per-Eric |
September 25, 2003 |
Floor board with coupling means
Abstract
A floor board, which comprises coupling means (2-5) at its side
edges (8-11), is arranged to be connected to other similar floor
boards to form a floor. The floor board (1) has at least one pair
of coupling means consisting of a female coupling means (2, 3) and
a male coupling means (4, 5), which extend along two opposite side
edges (8, 9; 10, 11). The female coupling means (2, 3) comprises a
first coupling element (12), which projects laterally and which has
an upwardly open groove (22). The male coupling means (4, 5)
comprises a second coupling element (27), which has the shape of an
upwardly open V, the outer V-leg (38) of which is springingly
foldable in the direction of the inner V-leg (37). The two coupling
elements (12, 27) are located in such manner that, when
interconnecting two similar floor boards, the groove (22) in the
first coupling element (12) of one of the floor boards is situated
directly under the V-shaped second coupling element (27) of the
other floor board when the floor boards are in such a position
relative to each other that their side edges (8, 9; 10, 11) facing
each other are vertically aligned. The two floor boards are
interconnectible by pressing, from said relative position, said
other Door board downwards, whereby the outer V-leg (38) of the
second coupling element (27) is springingly folded, said V-lef
springing back to its initial position and snapping in under a stop
once the second coupling element (27) has been inserted into the
first coupling element (12).
Inventors: |
Stridsman, Per-Eric;
(Hanaskog, SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER
LLP
1300 I STREET, NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Family ID: |
20280201 |
Appl. No.: |
10/311926 |
Filed: |
May 27, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
June 14, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/SE01/01343 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
404/41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F 2201/0517 20130101;
E04F 15/02 20130101; E04F 2201/0153 20130101; E04F 15/04 20130101;
E04F 2201/0138 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
404/41 |
International
Class: |
E01C 005/00 |
Claims
1. A floor board of elongated rectangular shape, which comprises
coupling means (2-5) at its side edges (8-11) and which is arranged
to be connected to other similar floor boards to form a floor (6),
which is made up of a plurality of adjacent, parallel rows (7a, 7b,
7c) of juxtaposed floor boards (1) and in which the floor boards of
one and the same row are interconnected short side to short side
and the floor boards of adjacent rows are interconnected long side
to long side, the coupling means being composed of a first pair of
coupling means (2, 4) consisting of a female coupling means (2) and
a male coupling means (4), which extend along the one and the other
long side edges (8, 9) of the floor board, respectively, and a
second pair of coupling means (3, 5) consisting of a female
coupling means (3) and a male coupling means (5), which extend
along the one and the other short sides (10, 11) of the floor
board, respectively, characterised in that the female coupling
means (2, 3) in at least one of said two pairs of coupling means
(2, 4; 3, 5) comprises a first coupling element (12), which
projects laterally from said one long side edge/short side edge
(8/10) and extends along this edge at a level below the upper
surface of the floor board and which has an upwardly open groove
(22) extending along the first coupling element (12) and an upper
portion (23) with a lower surface (24), which extends obliquely
upwards and over the groove (22) a short distance from the inner
limiting wall (25) thereof so as to form a stop, that the male
coupling means (4, 5) in said one pair of coupling means comprises
a second coupling element (27), which has substantially the shape
of an upwardly open V and which extends along said other long side
edge/short side edge (9/11) in a longitudinal recess (29, 33)
formed in the lower portion thereof, the outer V-leg (38) of the
second coupling element (27) being springingly foldable in the
direction of the inner V-leg (37) of the second coupling element
(27), and that the external V-shape of the second coupling element
(27) in its nondeformed state is substantially complementary to the
shape of the groove (22) of the first coupling element (12), the
two coupling elements (12, 27) being located in such manner that,
when interconnecting two similar floor boards, the groove (22) in
the first coupling element (12) of one of the floor boards is
situated directly under the substantially V-shaped second coupling
element (27) of the other floor board when the floor boards are in
such a position relative to each other that their side edges (8, 9;
10, 11) facing each other are vertically aligned, and the two floor
boards being interconnectible by pressing the second coupling
element (27) of said other floor board down into the first coupling
element (12) of said one floor board, whereby the outer V-leg (38)
of the second coupling element (27) is springingly folded, said
V-leg springing back to its initial position and snapping in under
said stop once the second coupling element (27) has been inserted
into the first coupling element (12).
2. A floor board according to claim 1, wherein the upper portion of
the outer V-leg (38) of the second coupling element (27) projects
laterally from said other long side edge/short side edge
(9/11).
3. A floor board according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the female
coupling means (2, 3) comprises a first plastic section having a
flange (13), which projects laterally from the first coupling
element (12) and which is mounted in a first notch (14) formed at
said one long side edge/short side edge (8/10).
4. A floor board according to claim 3, wherein the flange (13) of
the first plastic section is mounted in the first notch (14) by
means of glue.
5. A floor board according to claim 4, wherein the flange (13) of
the first plastic section is provided with longitudinal,
glue-receiving ducts (15) that are substantially rectangular in
cross-section.
6. A floor board according to any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the male coupling means (4, 5) comprises a second plastic
section having a flange (28), which projects laterally from the
second coupling element (27) and which is mounted in a second notch
(29) formed at said other long side edge/short side edge
(9/11).
7. A floor board according to claim 6, wherein the flange (28) of
the second plastic section is mounted in the second notch (29) by
means of glue.
8. A floor board according to claim 7, wherein the flange (28 of
the second plastic section is provided with longitudinal,
glue-receiving ducts (31) that are substantially rectangular in
cross-section.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a floor board of elongated
rectangular shape, which comprises coupling means at its lateral
edges and which is arranged to be connected to other similar floor
boards to form a floor, which is made up of a plurality of
adjacent, parallel rows of juxtaposed floor boards and in which the
floor boards of one and the same row are interconnected short side
to short side and the floor boards of adjacent rows are
interconnected long side to long side, the coupling means being
composed of a first pair of coupling means consisting of a female
coupling means and a male coupling means, which extend along the
one and the other long side edges of the floor board, respectively,
and a second pair of coupling means consisting of a female coupling
means and a male coupling means, which extend along the one and the
other short sides of the floor board, respectively.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In common, prior-art floor boards of this type, the female
coupling means consist of grooves and the male coupling means of
tongues (or feathers). A laterally open groove is formed in one of
the long side faces of the floor board, and a laterally open groove
is formed in one of its short side faces, the two grooves extending
along the board's entire length and width, respectively. A
laterally projecting tongue is formed on the other long side face
of the floor board, and a laterally projecting tongue is formed on
its other short side face, the two tongues extending substantially
along the board's entire length and width, respectively. These
floor boards are intended to be interconnected so as to form a
floor. For this purpose, the tongues of a floor board are inserted
horizontally into a long side groove of another floor board and
into a short side groove of yet another floor board. The dimensions
of the grooves and tongues are chosen so that the tongues are
insertable into the grooves with a very tight fit. Before the
tongues are inserted into the grooves, glue is applied in the
grooves. The grooves and tongues provide a relative locking of the
interconnected floor boards perpendicularly to the floor level, and
the glue causes a relative locking parallel to the floor level.
[0003] The floor boards described above have several disadvantages.
An important disadvantage is that once the floor has been installed
it cannot be taken up without the floor boards being damaged. Thus,
the floor boards cannot be reused once they have been taken up.
Another disadvantage, caused by the tight fit between groove and
tongue, is that it might be difficult to insert the tongues into
the corresponding grooves, and that it may therefore be necessary
to use tools to knock the floor boards into an interconnected
position without any gap between the boards. This entails a
considerable risk of the floor boards being damaged. A further
disadvantage is that glue has to be used in the installation of the
floor, which is not only difficult but also time-consuming.
[0004] In other prior-art floor boards, some of these disadvantages
have been eliminated by dimensioning the grooves and tongues so
that it is relatively easy to insert the tongues into the grooves.
To interconnect these floor boards different kinds of clips are
used, said clips being placed under two juxtaposed floor boards in
such manner that they engage in grooves on the underside of the
floor boards by means of upwardly projecting protrusions. This
solution allows an installed floor to be taken up in such manner
that the floor boards may be reused. A disadvantage of the solution
is, however, that loose parts in the form of clips need to be
assembled during installation of the floor and that it implies a
relatively difficult adjustment of the floor boards with regard to
groove-tongue and clips-clip grooves.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a floor
board which is designed so as to allow a floor to be installed in
an extremely simple manner and without using loose parts or glue by
means of a plurality of such similar floor boards and to make it
possible to take up the floor boards and reuse them.
[0006] According to the invention, this object is achieved with a
floor board of the type described by way of introduction, which is
characterised in that the female coupling means in at least one,of
said two pairs of coupling means comprises a first coupling
element, which projects laterally from said one long side
edge/short side edge and extends along this edge at a level below
the upper surface of the floor board and which has an upwardly open
groove extending along the first coupling element and an upper
portion with a lower surface, which extends obliquely upwards and
over the groove a short distance from the inner limiting wall
thereof so as to form a stop, that the male coupling means in said
one pair of coupling means comprises a second coupling element,
which has substantially the shape of an upwardly open V and which
extends along said other long side edge/short side edge in a
longitudinal recess formed in the lower portion thereof, the outer
V-leg of the second coupling element being springingly foldable in
the direction of the inner V-leg of the second coupling element,
and that the external V-shape of the second coupling element in its
nondeformed state is substantially complementary to the shape of
the groove of the first coupling element, the two coupling elements
being located in such manner that, when interconnecting two similar
floor boards, the groove in the first coupling element of one of
the floor boards is situated directly under the substantially
V-shaped second coupling element of the other floor board when the
floor boards are in such a position relative to each other that
their side edges facing each other are vertically aligned, and the
two floor boards being inter-connectible by pressing the second
coupling element of said other floor board down into the first
coupling element of said one floor board, whereby the outer V-leg
of the second coupling element is springingly folded, said V-leg
springing back to its initial position and snapping in under said
stop once the second coupling element has been inserted into the
first coupling element.
[0007] The upper portion of the outer V-leg of the second coupling
element projects laterally from said other long side edge/short
side edge.
[0008] The female coupling means and the male coupling means
preferably comprise a first and a second plastic section,
respectively, having a flange which projects laterally from the
first and the second coupling element, respectively, and which is
mounted in a first and a second notch, respectively, formed at said
one and said other long side edge/short side edge,
respectively.
[0009] The flanges may be mounted in the respective notches by
means of glue. The flange of both the first and the second plastic
section is suitably provided with longitudinal, glue-receiving
ducts that are substantially rectangular in cross section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The invention will now be described in more detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a floor board according to the invention
as seen from above;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a floor which is made up of a
plurality of juxtaposed floor boards according to FIG. 1;
[0013] FIGS. 3-5 illustrate the interconnection of two floor boards
according to FIG. 1; and
[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates how two floor boards that have been
interconnected can be separated.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] The floor board shown in FIG. 1 has a conventional,
elongated rectangular shape. Floor boards of this type usually have
a length of about 1200 mm and a width of about 190 mm. The floor
board 1 has at its four side edges coupling means 2, 3, 4, 5 which
are arranged to interact with the corresponding coupling means on
other similar floor boards 1 during installation of a floor 6 (FIG.
2), so as to interconnect the floor boards. As shown in FIG. 2, the
floor is made up of a plurality of adjacent, parallel rows 7a, 7b,
7c of juxtaposed floor boards 1, the floor boards 1 of one and the
same row 7a, 7b, 7c being interconnected short side to short side
and the floor boards 1 of adjacent rows 7a, 7b, 7c being
interconnected long side to long side.
[0016] The coupling means 2-5 are composed of a first pair of
coupling means 2, 4 consisting of a female coupling means 2, which
extends along one long side edge 8 of the floor board 1, and a male
coupling means 4, which extends along the other long side edge 9 of
the floor board 1, and of a second pair of coupling means 3, 5
consisting of a female coupling means 3, which extends along one
short side edge 10 of the floor board 1, and a male coupling means
5, which extends along the other short side edge 11 of the floor
board 1.
[0017] The female coupling means 2, 3 in each pair of coupling
means 2, 4 and 3, 5 consists of a section made of a plastic
material. This plastic section has a first coupling element 12 and
a flange 13, which projects laterally from said element and which
is mounted by means of glue in a horizontal notch 14 formed at the
side edge 8, 10. In its upper side and underside, the flange 13 is
provided with longitudinal ducts 15 that are substantially
rectangular in cross-section.
[0018] When attaching the female coupling means 2, 3 to the floor
board 1, which is done in the factory during manufacture of the
floor board, glue is applied to the flange 13, which is then
inserted into the notch 14. When the glue has set, it adheres well
to the upper and lower limiting walls of the notch 14 since the
core of the floor board 1 in which the notch 14 has been formed, in
the embodiment shown and as is usually the case, is made of a
fibreboard or the like. The glue does not adhere as well to the
plastic material of the flange 13, however, but this is compensated
for by the fact that the glue, once set, fills the ducts 15 in the
flange and thereby prevents the female coupling means 2, 3 from
being extracted.
[0019] The notch 14 has a widened portion 17 at its mouth, said
portion receiving part of the first coupling element 12. The
widened portion 17 extends downwards to the underside of the floor
board 1, but is terminated a short distance from its upper
side.
[0020] The first coupling means 12 is located below the upper side
of the floor board 1 and comprises a vertical, inwardly facing side
18, which abuts against the shoulder 19 formed by the transition
between the main part of the notch 14 and its widened portion 17.
Recesses 16 for collecting any excess glue during insertion of the
flange 13 of the female coupling means 2, 3 into the notch 14 are
formed at the side 18. The first coupling means 12 further
comprises a horizontal underside 20, which is located on a level
with the underside of the floor board 1, and an outwardly facing
side 21, which extends steeply (about 80 degrees) obliquely
upwards-outwards. An upwardly open groove 22 is formed in the first
coupling element 12. The first coupling element 12 also has an
upper portion 23 with a lower surface 24, which extends about 45
degrees obliquely upwards a short distance over the groove 22 from
the inner limiting wall 25 thereof to form a stop. The outer edge
of the upper portion 23 is located in line with the edge 8, 10 of
the floor board 1. The outer, limiting wall 26 of the groove 22 is
substantially parallel to the outwardly facing side 21 of the first
coupling element 12.
[0021] The male coupling means 4, 5 in each pair of coupling means
2, 4 and 3, 5 comprises a section made of a plastic material. The
plastic section has a second coupling element 27, a laterally
projecting flange 28, which is mounted by means of glue in a
horizontal notch 29 formed at the side edge 9, 11, and a connecting
portion 30 connecting the second coupling element 27 and the flange
28. In its upper side and underside, the flange 28 is provided with
longitudinal ducts 31 that are substantially rectangular in
cross-section.
[0022] When attaching the male coupling means 4, 5 to the floor
board 1, which is also done in the factory during manufacture of
the floor board, glue is applied to the flange 28, which is then
inserted into the notch 29. When the glue has set, it adheres well
to the upper and lower limiting walls of the notch 29 since the
core of the floor board 1 in which the notch 29 has been formed
here is made, as mentioned above, of a fibreboard or the like. The
glue does not adhere as well to the plastic material of the flange
28, however, but this is compensated for by the fact that the glue,
once set, fills the ducts 31 in the flange and thereby prevents the
male coupling means 4, 5 from being extracted.
[0023] The notch 29 has a widened portion 33 at its opening, said
portion receiving the connecting portion 30 and the main part of
the second coupling element 27. The widened portion 33 extends
downwards to the underside of the floor board 1, but is terminated
a short distance from its upper side.
[0024] The connecting portion 30 has substantially the shape of an
inverted L, its vertical leg 34 abutting against the shoulder 35
formed by the transition between the main part of the notch 29 and
its widened portion 33, and its horizontal leg 36 abutting against
the upper limiting wall of the widened portion 33. The vertical leg
34 of the connecting portion 30 is connected to the flange 28 and
extends downwards to the level of the underside of the floor board
1, and its horizontal leg 36 is connected at its free end to the
second coupling means 27. Recesses 32 for collecting any excess
glue during insertion of the flange 28 of the male coupling means
4, 5 into the notch 29 are formed at the side of the vertical leg
34 that abuts against the floor board 1.
[0025] The second coupling means 27 has substantially the shape of
an upwardly open V, the inner V-leg 37 of which is connected to the
connecting portion 30. The upper portion of the outer V-leg 38
projects laterally a short distance beyond the long side edge/short
side edge 9, 11 of the floor board 1. The outer V-leg 38 is
springingly foldable in the direction of the inner V-leg 37 to such
an extent that its upper portion can be inserted to a position
within the side edge 9, 11. The external V-shape of the second
coupling element 27 is, in its nondeformed state, i.e. the state
shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, substantially complementary to the shape of
the groove 22 of the first coupling element 12. In this context
(see FIG. 5), "complementary" means that the inner V-leg 37 of the
second coupling element 27 is inclined at the same angle as the
outer limiting wall 26 of the groove 22 and that, when a male
coupling means 4, 5 of a floor board 1 engages a female coupling
means 2, 3 of another floor board 1, the outer V-leg 38 of the
second coupling element 27 of said male coupling means abuts, in
its nondeformed state, against the stop surface 24 of the first
coupling element 12 of said female coupling means while the second
coupling element 27 rests against the bottom of the groove 22 and
its inner V-leg 37 abuts against the outer limiting wall 26 of the
groove 22.
[0026] When installing a floor 6 on a support surface 39 by means
of floor boards 1 according to the present invention, a first floor
board 1 is arranged substantially horizontally in such manner
relative to an already installed second floor board 1 that the
second coupling element 27 in one of its male coupling means 4, 5
is located substantially directly above the first coupling element
12 in the corresponding female coupling means 2, 3 of the installed
second floor board 1 (see FIG. 3). In this position, the projecting
upper portion of the outer V-leg 38 rests against the long side
edge/short side edge 8, 10 of the installed second floor board 1
and the lower portion of the inner V-leg 37 rests against the outer
limiting wall 26 of the groove 22 in the first coupling element
12.
[0027] From this position, the first floor board 1 is pressed
downwards towards the support surface 39. The first floor board 1
is thus moved by slidingly displacing the inner V-leg 37 of the
second coupling element 27 on the outer limiting wall 26 of the
groove 22 closer to the installed second floor board 1 while the
outer V-leg 38 of the second coupling element 27 is springingly
folded in the direction of the inner V-leg 37 (see FIG. 4). Once
the V-shaped second coupling element 27 has been completely
inserted into the groove 22 of the first coupling element 12, its
outer V-leg 38 will spring back to its original nondeformed state
and snap in under the stop surface 24. In this connected state (See
FIG. 5), the two floor boards 1 are on a level with each other and
abut against each other side edge 8, 10 to side edge 9, 11 without
any play.
[0028] If, for some reason, the floor 6 is to be taken up, the
first floor board 1 is lifted slightly from the surface 39 in the
way shown in FIG. 6 by means of a suitable tool, for example a
crowbar, which results in the adjacent floor boards 1 being
inclined relative to one another. This inclination is made possible
by the fact that, in the connected state, there is a wedge-shaped,
free space 40 between the outwardly facing side 21 of the first
coupling element 12 and the vertical L-leg 34 of the connecting
portion 30 and a wedge-shaped, free space 41 between the inner
limiting wall 25 of the groove 22 and the outer V-leg 38 of the
second coupling element 27. From this elevated position, the floor
board 1 provided with the female coupling means 2, 3 is pressed
downwards towards the support surface while the floor board 1
provided with the male coupling means 4, 5 is retained in the
elevated position. The floor boards 1 are thus disengaged from each
other without breaking, which allows them to be reused.
[0029] The floor board 1 described above may be modified in various
ways within the scope of the invention. Thus, the plastic sections
forming the coupling means 2-5 may, for example, be replaced by
coupling means that are milled directly in the floor board, when
the latter is made of a composite material with a certain
resiliency which consists of compressed plastic and wood
powder.
* * * * *